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New Year, New Gear!

I have recently made the move from 3D modeling to 3D animation, and with that, I needed a little bit more power to back my rendering.

I previously had a dual-core processor with 6 GB of RAM, which was great for rendering still images, but was horrendous for rendering animations. After doing an eye-bleeding amount of research, I finally decided I needed a new computer, a stronger processor, an overall better machine!

I had decided (my budget also had a say) on a Mac Pro with a 6-core processor and 32 GB of RAM, hoping this would be enough to render small animations without having ridiculous rendering times and my computer crashing.

unpacking my new Mac Pro

When I received my new Mac Pro, I had the ultimate test…rendering an animation!

macrophage

I had been previously working on a macrophage animation, and while the still images were rendering quickly enough on my old MacBook Pro, the animation with camera movement was taking 30 minutes per frame! I was ready to render on my new computer, but I had a problem.
I had forgotten to purchase a keyboard!

When I purchased my Mac Pro, I figured I could use my Wacom Cintiq tablet as the monitor for a while (at least until I had decided I needed a second monitor. Next year, perhaps?). I had now, however, thought about how I was going to type. I realized that I was in a sticky situation right after plugging in my Cintiq and realized I couldn’t set up my new computer without a keyboard!

My husband and I immediately ran out to our local Walmart (in a mild blizzard) and bought a keyboard. I couldn’t wait, and the storm didn’t seem that bad when we first headed out!

I purchased a Razer Ornata Chroma with LEDs! I love LEDs!

Complete setup showing my Wacom Cintiq and Razer Ornata Chroma

After making all my purchases and finally being able to set up my computer, I got to render for the first time on the Mac Pro, and it did not disappoint. The same animation only took 6 minutes of rendering per frame! It was definitely worth the $4000!

macrophage animation sample

While the new computer was quite expensive for my first rendering capable machine, it was worth every penny, and now I can create beautiful animations and 3D models for my clients! Even more than that, I started using my new computer for my 2D artwork as well (Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator), and it worked so smoothly, I got rid of my old MacBook Pro. I was able to create more layers and work quickly without that terrifying spinning rainbow of death that pops up right before a crash.
All in all, 2019 is going to be one productive, beautiful, 3D modeling year!